Human Sexuality: Across the Lifespan

Course Summary

Series Overview: This course is part of a 4-course series on Human Sexuality

As a central aspect of human identity, experience, and wellbeing, clinicians should understand sexuality as a part of holistic work across mental health disciplines. This series provides information about language, terms and definitions, and various human experiences that clinicians will encounter when working with clients in general and specifically related to sexual health. Clinicians can use the case examples presented throughout the learning material to reflect upon how their sexual identity, beliefs, and experiences may affect engagement with specific clients and inform their conceptualizations about areas of concern for clients. The courses in this human sexuality series are: 
• Human Sexuality Across the Lifespan 
• Fertility and Sexual Health Interviews 
• Sexuality in Context and Sexually Transmitted Infections  
• Sexual Disorders and Sex Therapy  

For professionals seeking California licensure: Taken together, the four courses in this series meet the requirement for 10 hours of human sexuality training. 

The concept of human sexuality has developed throughout the history of human experience, especially in terms of the scientific and cultural understanding of sexual development across the lifespan. This learning material presents human sexual development throughout the lifespan, including childhood, adolescence, and adulthood. The clinician’s understanding of sexual development from childhood through the phases of adulthood is critical for assessment and intervention planning that considers or targets sexuality. 

This learning material provides a review of physical markers of sexual development, as well as accompanying emotional and behavioral development. It explores the connection between attachment and sexual development, which offers clinicians additional insights for use in clinical assessment and intervention. This course explains gender identity and sexual orientation, two related but separate concepts, and presents language and varieties of experience that a clinician might encounter across these domains. Mental health providers can apply these concepts to real-world intervention with clients through the case examples presented throughout the course.